Two-way rail anchor



a 8- F. A. PRESTON ET AL 2,434,865

TWO -WAY RAIL ANCHOR Filed Aug. 9, 1944 s Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS'.xlfi esfozz Jam 8- F. A. PRESTON ET AL 5 I TWO-WAY RAIL ANCHCR v FiledAug. 9, 1944 s Sheets-Sheet 2 v INVENTORS.

Jan.'20, 1948. PRESTON ET AL 2,434,865

TWO-WAY RAIL ANCHOR Filed Aug. 9, 1944 s Sheets-Sheet s Patented Jan.20, 1948 aUN-I TED P1 o EWOeWAYRAIE NNEHGR Frederick 'ALTPicstongiLakeEorest; anti HariiIdlG. Warr,"P ark Rii1ge,111., assjgnorsfbyldirect'and mesne assignments;-ito Poor'dzfflompanyi. Chi.- cago,Illipatcor-poratiomof Delaware Application Augusta, 1944,;Serial No.548; 648;

"5'Claims; (01. 238- 327) This; invention relatesta improvements in'railanchoring devices, and particularly to. anchoring devicesadaptedtocooperate with arailsupporting element to. prevent "lengthwise movement.of

therail. relative tosaid supporting element.

One,...oithe..obiects.of the invention is to pro:- vide improvementsl-indevices of'the .above' char.- acterwhich make.it.practicable' to providea twoway,.anchor device constructedito exert" itsprincipal g'rip. onthe; railfdiagonally through the 'ra'il base from the lower webfillet'at one side OfIIth'e rail to the outer edge of the rail base..flang .e;at the. other. side. of; the,rail, and to also extend intothesspacelbetween; the. rail." basei anfdthe top surfaceoi an.underlying cross tie soas to embrace ingly engagethe. forward and rearedge portions or a tie, plate. interposed. between the rail":an d. thecrossitie.

Twoeway anchoring devices constructed to embracingly, engage. theforward. and rear. edges of a tie,p1ate havebeenjheretofore proposedbut.suchanchor devices have been provided with.

hook-shape'djaws to gripithe t'op arrd bottom surfaces of therailbas'e'flange at one isideofthe rail. In such anchor devices, theunder rail .or transverse bodvportions offthe device iare'gprovide'dwith separate, jjawsformedto ,gripthe top. and bottom surfaces of therailbaseflange at one side of'the rail. 'Howeven'in thepresentg'improvement there is but asingle jaw. at one sidedff the railwhich cooperateswithboth transversev body portions of the anchor."It"is,'therefore,a.

specific object of the presentinvention'to so construct and arrange thesing1ejawportion that:

it will equalize'the gripping pressure exerted by both of. the tranversebody, portions.

Another object istoprovidea two,.-way anchor device ofthe.specificltype.hereirrshownin .which the single rail. grippin-gjaw.atone. side. ofjlthe. rail is formed to bear. on. the .fillet. at.the;;iunction of thervertical Web of themraiiwiththelbasepon tion thereof andis; of such length .that,,the ,j-aw can be formed-from-a barofrgreater.widthjthan; thickness and arranged edgewise .rielative'gtorthe web. oftherail. to provide .the. neeessarygripping force for .both. underrailbody .pontionsof {the anchorand atthe same timeprovide therequired.flexibility .and resilience transversely...of. therail. to avoidlocalized .distortionssofuthe; jaw andto; permit theanchoring deviceto.bereadily applied to. rails -.havin base, portions of different Widths.

and thickness.

Another and, more specific objectbf-the invention is to .form a.two-.way'anchor of=.the-.ab.ove

general I type. with. a sin le jaw Ior engagement 5.5.

' with-the. rail at one. side thereof and cooperating with. twospacedapart,und'er. rail. bodyportions whichfj'aw, is; formed to,provide a centrally disposed...b,ea'ring..surface .which. together withthe lengthrof'ithe. jaw;functions .to prevent localized.

di'stortionnflthel aw .duringtheapplication. of the device. toiaerail;

Another obiect oflthe'invention is to. provide an. anchor;ofiltheiabovei.character. which is made. from ialbar of rectangular.cross section-with one. of."itsTlongitudinali'faces rounded. andinwhich the. rounded surface; is. soidispose'd. as, to. provide a suitablesuriacejforlbearing. against. thev lower.

web .fill'etflf .therail, .theconfigurationof .the anchordevice,beingsuch'gthat"theifiat longitudir nalltacesnfithebarlinthat-,pol'ftionlthereof which.

extends beneath lithe rail .base. is positioned. to bear against.thefforwar'd and. rearifaces of; the. tieplate.

'fIZhe. invention 1 is illustrated in. two preferred embodiments .in.the accompanying drawings. wherein;

"Figflliis altransversesection', taken throughthev base portion at a.railroad rail. showing a. rail anchor deviceconstructedinaccordancewiththis invention appliedthereto ina positiontoembracingly. engagea,tie ,pIate, interposed: between the base .pontion of .the raiLandthetop surfacev of an. .underlyingnross .tie.

.lFig3f 2. is aplanv view of theseveraLcooperative elementsinclurled in:the structure of Fig. 1.

'Jiig. '3 As... a ..-view .in elerationtaken .from. the leftrof'fi ulrlFlig. *Lisawiew.inelevationof a-metalbanprovided with .the. jaw j bentto provide -the desired.

curvature. otthejjaw. portion, but before formation .of the. anchor..body, is completed.

Fi 5; is a. cross, section taken on. line 5.'5f of Big, I4; and

'Ei flifi is aviewsimilarlto' Fig. llbut' 'illustrating amodifiediconstruction.in which the .under rail bodypontions .ofithe.author. are .formed at their f.ree..ends...with hookedportions adaptedtolbe 'ofssaidseat,with.-.unstanding...ribs 5.! Land. l5ior.

any form of retaining members; such as screws;

flexible spikes, and/or clips may be used; The

width of tie plate I2, as herein illustrated, is

somewhat less than the width of the cross tie Consequently, there arespaces designated 1. l8 and I9, as shown best inFig. 3, interveningbetween the bottom surface of the rail base Ill and the top surface ofthe cross tie H adjacent the forward and rear faces of the tie plate |2.

The rail anchor device, as illustrated in Figs.

tends to increase the spacings between the under A rail body portions 22and 23 and thereby facilitates application of the anchor device tooversized tie plates. The application of the anchor device to the baseflange of the rail also effects a slight spreading of the jaw. 2|relative to the transverse body portions 22 and 23 and thereby effects avertical gripping action between the end of the jaw 2| and the underrail body portions ofthe anchor device, which gripping action is uniformin relation to both under rail body portions. This vertically exertedforce serves, in addition to resisting the creeping movement of the railto 5 hold the locking shoulders 28 and 29 in their lockto 5, inclusive,is made from a metal bar of general rectangular configuration which isof greater 3 width than thickness and formed with one of its narrowfaces rounded as indicated by the reference numeral 20. The said bar isformed with a substantially straight bearing'portion midwaybetween'its'ends and isbent to provide a relatively long bowed; portionand spaced arms 22.

and 23. The bowed portion 2| constitutes an upper jaw of the anchordevice and the rounded surface as the substantially straight centralportion of the bar is adapted to bear against the fillet 24 at thejunction of the web of the rail extend across beneath "the rail base andabut against theforward and rear edges of the tie plate l2 within thespaces l8 and I3. *The' ends of both'under rail body' portions of theanchor are offset upwardly, as indicated at 28 and 29, so as to providelocking shoulders for engagement with the'lower longitudinal edge of therail base.

Iniapplying the anchor device to the rail the shoulder ends of the bodyportions 22 and 23 are passed beneath the rail until the hook-shaped jawportion 2| engages the top inclined surface of the rail base. Thisposition will be assumed before the locking shoulders 28 and 29 engageover the other edge of the rail base. The jaw portion 2| of the anchoris then forced upwardly on the rail base to bear against the fillet 24.This force is preferably applied by striking the bends 26 and 21 of'theanchor device with a track sledge or other suitable implement.Duringthis applying movement the bowed jaw portion 2| will be flexedsubstantially throughout its full length so as to permit the under railbody portions 22 and 23 to move transversely of the rail base a distancesufiicient topermit the lockingshoulders 2 8 and 29 to snap up over theother edge of the rail base. The said application of force also tends toflex the large bends 26 and 21 transversely of the rail to some'extentso that the combined resilience of the bends 25 and 21 and the bowedjawportion 2| exerts a resilient grip on the rail which extendsdiagonally through therail base from the fillet 24 to the lower cornerof the rail base flange at the other. side of the rail. The length ofthe jaw 2| is such that it can be positioned edgewise against the fillet24 and flexed transversely of its greatest width a distance suflicientto permit the application of the anchor device to rails having oversizedbase flanges. This flexing of the jaw 2| transversely of the rail alsoing positions. a Referring. now to the modified embodiment shown in Fig.6: The modified anchor device, for the most part, may be and preferablyis identical with the constructions of the previous embodiment. Theonlydifference beingthat instead of forming the free ends of the under railbody portions with offset shoulders, as indicated in Fig. 1, the freeends of the body portions designated 30 and 3| are bent to form returnhooks 32 and 33 adapted to engage over the upper corner portion 34 ofthe rail base flange. The combined flexing of jaw 2| and the bends 26and 21 of the modified anchor device permit transverse flexing of theanchor sufficient to apply the return hook portions 32 and 33 over theupper corner 34 of the rail base. While the invention is illustratedherein in connection with certain conventional rail base and supportingstructures, it will be obvious that the anchor device can be constructedto accommo date supporting structures of various character. It will alsobe obvious that the embodiments of the invention herein shown may beotherwise varied in construction without departure from the spirit ofthe invention. Consequently the invention is not to be limited by thespecific constructions shown and described exceptwhere thoseconstructions are included in the claims.

We claim: 7 r

1. A unitary device adapted to cooperate with a railroad rail supportingstructure to resist both forward and rearward movements of the railrelative to said supportin structure, comprising two body portions forextending transversely of the rail beneath the base thereof and aconnecting bar for connecting said body portions; the said body portionsbeing positioned to abut against opposite faces of the said railsupporting structure and provided with means for locking engagement withthe rail, and the said connecting bar being positioned to extendlengthwise of the rail across said rail supporting structure and formedwith a rounded edge to bear against a curved fillet at the junction ofthe web of the rail and the base portion thereof and beingformed alsowith a straight portion midway between the bodies and bowed toward therail so that the said bar will bear only against the said fillet at thelocation of said straight portion.

2. A unitary device adapted to cooperate with a railroad rail supportingstructure to resist both forward and rearward movements of the railrelative to said supporting structure, comprising a bar of greater widththan thickness having a rounded surface along one longitudinal edgethereof and a fiat surface along the opposite edge and bent to form twobody portions for extending transversely of the rail beneath the .basethereof and a connecting bar for connecting the ends of said bodyportions at one side of the rail;

the flat edge of the bar in the said body portions being positioned toabut against opposite faces of the said rail supporting structure andthe said body portions being provided with means for locking engagementwith the rail, and the said connecting bar being positioned to extendlengthwise of the rail across said rail supporting structure and bowedtoward the web of the rail and positioned for bearing engagement of saidrounded surface only at a location midway between said body portions,against a fillet at the junction of said web and the base portion of therail.

3. A unitary device adapted to cooperate with a rail supportingstructure to resist both forward and rearward movements of the railrelative to said supporting structure, comprising a bar of greater widththan thickness bent to form two body portions for extending transverselyof the rail beneath the base thereof and a connecting bar for connectingsaid body portions; the said body portions being positioned to abutagainst opposite faces of the said rail supporting structure andprovided with means for locking engagement with the rail, and the saidconnecting bar being positioned to extend lengthwise of the rail acrosssaid rail supporting structure and formed with a rounded edge to bearagainst a curved fillet junction of the web of the rail and the baseportion thereof and being formed also with a straight portion midwaybetween the bodies and bowed toward the rail so that the said bar willbear only against said fillet at the location of said straight portion.

4. A unitary device adapted to clamp a rail base and engage forward andrear faces of a rail supporting structure to resist lengthwise movementof the rail relative to said structure, comprising a fiat bar of greaterwidth than thickness having a rounded surface along one longitudinaledge thereof and bent to provide two body portions which extend fiatwiseacross beneath the rail base and a connecting bar which connects theends of said body portions at one side of the rail and extendslengthwise of the rail across said rail supporting structure and isbowed from end to end in the direction of said greater width andpositioned for engagement of said rounded surface, at a location midwaybetween said body portions, with a fillet at the junction of the centralweb of the rail with the base thereof and the ends of said body portionsat the other side of the rail being formed with locking shoulders forengagement with a lower longitudinal corner portion of the rail base,whereby a grip exerted by the unitary device extends diagonally throughthe rail base from the midway bearing at the central portion of saidconnecting bar on said fillet to the said lower longitudinal cornerportion of the rail base flange at the other side of the rail, andwhereby the flexing of said connecting bar at opposite sides of itsmidway bearing exerts equal clamping actions on said body portions bothvertically and transversely of the rail.

5. A unitary device adapted to clamp a rail base and engage forward andrear edge faces of a tie plate on which the rail is seated to resistlengthwise movement of the rail relative to said tie plate, comprising abar of greater width than thickness having a rounded surface along onelongitudinal edge thereof and a fiat surface along the opposite edge andbent to provide two body portions which extend flatwise across beneath arail base with said flat edge portion of the bar engaging the tie plateand a connecting bar which extends lengthwise of the rail across saidsupporting structure and is bowed from end to end in the direction ofsaid greater width and positioned for edgewise engagement of saidrounded edge at a location midway between said body portions with afillet at the junction of the central web of the rail with the basethereof and the other ends of said body portions being formed withlooking shoulders for engagement with a lower longitudinal cornerportion of the rail base, whereby a grip exerted by the unitary deviceextends diagonally through the rail base from the central portion ofsaid connecting bar on said fillet to the said lower longitudinal cornerportion of the rail base flange at the other side of the rail.

FREDERICK A. PRESTON.

HAROLD G. WARR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,240,858 Preston May 6, 19411,777,990 Moore et a1. Oct. 7, 1930 1,787,811 Bodkin Jan. 6, 19312,139,847 Palmer Dec. 13, 1938 2,293,423 Clarkson Aug. 18, 19422,325,851 Hamilton Aug. 3, 1943 Certificate of Correction Patent No.2,434,865. January 20, 1948.

FREDERICK A. PRESTON ET AL.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specificationof the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows: Column 3,line 27, for the Words as the read at the and that the said LettersPatent should be read with this correction therein that the same mayconform to the record of the case in the Patent Oflice.

Signed and sealed this 6th day of April, A. D. 1948.

THOMAS F. MURPHY,

Assistant Commissioner of Patents.

